Embedding and retrieving data in an application file format

ABSTRACT

Third party data embedding may be provided. Data associated with a third party provider may be saved in a native application save file. If a save file opened by the application is determined to comprise third party data, the application may determine whether an appropriate data provider is available. The application may connect to the data provider and provide on-demand, asynchronous access to the third party data upon request from a user.

BACKGROUND

Embedding and retrieving data in an application file format is anextensible process for storing data in a work file without theapplication needing to understand the content and/or the format of thedata. In some situations, users have no way to move and/or access datafrom an external data source. For example, data may be stored in anonline database and inaccessible while working offline. If manipulatingthe data comprises complex, multi-dimensional queries such as OnlineAnalytical Processing (OLAP), large amounts of data may need to bestored and/or managed separately from other working data. Thisconventional strategy may cause problems as the management of separatedata files may cause distribution and synchronization issues, especiallyif the data is part of a collaboration project. Furthermore, some usersmay not have the skills or experience to create multi-dimensionalobjects on their own, and may wish to use familiar applications forsharing and manipulating such objects rather than relying on other userswith the necessary skills to create them.

SUMMARY

Embedding and retrieving data in an application file format may beprovided. This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of conceptsin a simplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter. Nor is this Summaryintended to be used to limit the claimed subject matter's scope.

Third party data embedding may be provided. Data associated with a thirdparty provider may be saved in a native application save file. If a savefile opened by the application is determined to comprise third partydata, the application may determine whether an appropriate data provideris available. The application may connect to the data provider andprovide on-demand access to the third party data upon request from auser and/or another program.

Both the foregoing general description and the following detaileddescription provide examples and are explanatory only. Accordingly, theforegoing general description and the following detailed descriptionshould not be considered to be restrictive. Further, features orvariations may be provided in addition to those set forth herein. Forexample, embodiments may be directed to various feature combinations andsub-combinations described in the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this disclosure, illustrate various embodiments of the presentinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an operating environment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a save file;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for providing access to third partydata; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system including a computing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the following description to refer to the same or similar elements.While embodiments of the invention may be described, modifications,adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example,substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elementsillustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may bemodified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosedmethods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limitthe invention. Instead, the proper scope of the invention is defined bythe appended claims.

Embedding of third party data in an application file may be provided.Software applications may use a native file format for saving data. Forsome applications, the native file format may not support types and/oramounts of data that a user may wish to view, edit, and/or modify withinthe application. For example, a spreadsheet application may be limitedto storing up to one million rows of data in a single workbook savefile, but a user may wish to interact with a database comprising tens ofmillions of data rows. The user may also wish to perform operations onthe data that is not available within the application, such as producingreports based on an Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) cube within thespreadsheet application. A data provider such as an Object Linking andEmbedding Database (OLEDB) interface may connect with the application toprovide this interaction functionality.

Consistent with embodiments of the invention, the application may accessa data provider that may provide support for loading and manipulatingthe third party data. The application may create a segment within itssave file and allow the data provider to write its data directly to thesegment of the save file. The file may be shared between differentinstances of the application, such as a second installation of thespreadsheet application on another user's computer, and opened as anative application file. On opening the file comprising the third partydata, the application may determine whether a data provider is availableto handle the data and use the data provider to allow access to thethird party data, immediately and/or upon a user's attempt to access thedata.

Further consistent with embodiments of the invention, the third partydata may not be loaded until the user requests access to it. Forexample, the spreadsheet workbook may comprise a graph created using thethird party data. The graph may be displayed as a picture to the userwithout needing to access the referenced third party data. If the usertries to modify the graph, the application may then utilize the dataprovider to load the third party data into memory and display the datato the user for interaction. This data loading may be performedasynchronously; that is, the user may be able to continue interactingwith the application while the data provider is loading the third partydata.

The ability to store third party data in the application file may enableusers to store third party data without the application having tounderstand the format or contents of the data. Because the data isstored within the application file, that file may be distributed andused like any other application file, without losing the custom data andwithout needing a network connection to access that data. Applicationfiles containing custom third party data may remain responsive becausethey may be loaded on demand and asynchronously.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an operating environment 100 for embeddingand retrieving data in an application file format. Operating environment100 may comprise an application 110 associated with a save file 120.Save file 120 may comprise a native format associated with application100 and/or a standard file format associated with a plurality ofapplications. For example, the Office Open XML standard is a file formatfor representing application data such as spreadsheets, charts,presentations, and word processing documents. The Open XML standard hasbeen propagated as International Standard specification ISO/IEC29500:2008. Save file 120 may comprise a plurality of segments, such asa native application data segment 125 and a third party data segment130. Segments may further comprise divisions based on data type, such asan XML data segment. Consistent with embodiments of the invention, savefile 120 may comprise a single file divided into segments for storingthe both native and third party data and/or a compressed archiveincluding a primary index file and a plurality of sub files. Consistentwith embodiments of the invention, the primary index file may compriselinks and/or location indices for any and/or all of the sub files.

Operating environment 100 may further comprise a third party application140, a data provider 150, and a service provider 160. Third partyapplication 140 may comprise, for example, a data manipulationapplication operative to create and/or manage a data cube, such as anOLAP cube. Data provider 150 may comprise an application and/or utilitythat may read, process, and/or translate data associated with thirdparty application 140 and service provider 160 may comprise additionalfunctionality available to operating environment 100. For example, dataprovider 150 may comprise an OLEDB provider operative to read the OLAPcube and forward data and/or queries to a database engine comprisingservice provider 160. Data provider 150 may also provide data toapplication 110, such as by providing the OLAP cube data to aspreadsheet application for viewing, modification, and/or otherinteractions. A user may thus exploit data provider 150 to leverage thedata format of third party application 140 and the functionalcapabilities of application 110. To the user, the third party data mayappear as a normal data file of the native type associated withapplication 110. When application 110 opens a file comprising thirdparty data, application 110 may provide data provider 150 with a UniformResource Locator (URL) of the file. Data provider 150 may forward thisURL to service provider 160 that may open the native file, extract thethird party data, and provide the third party data to application 110.Consistent with embodiments of the invention, application 110 may open afile in its native format and detect the presence of third party data.Application 110 may then pass a pointer to the third party data to dataprovider 150 via a generic interface; that is, application 110 may usethe same interface regardless of the format or destination providerassociated with the third party data. Data provider 150 may forward thethird party data to service provider 160 that knows how to read thethird party data using the generic interface. Service provider 160 maythen extract the third party data and return it to application 110 fordisplay.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a save file 200 consistent withembodiments of the invention. Other embodiments may comprise otherformats, such as a single file comprising a segment for storing thethird party data. Save file 200 may comprise a third party data folder210 for storing third party data. Third party data folder 210 maycomprise two associated files: a data file 220 and a property file 230.Third party data folder 210 may further comprise additional data filesand companion property files (not shown). Data file 220 may comprise theactual data for third party data 130 and property file 230 may compriseproperties associated with third party data 130. Third party data folder210 may further comprise a relationship folder 240 comprising arelationship file 250 associated with data file 220. Relationship file250 may specify the relationship between data file 220 and property file230.

The format of the data in data file 220 may not be understood byapplication 110. When application 110 reads and writes data file 220, itmay treat the contents as a chunk of data of a specified size. Whenapplication 110 opens a file containing a third party data segment, suchas save file 200, application 110 may not load third party data 130 intomemory immediately. Application 110 may only read and write to/from savefile 220 when saving an unloaded third party data part to a new file.

Property file 230 may comprise a list of properties for associated datafile 220. For example, property file 230 may comprise a uniqueidentifier of the associated third party data part, a location for anassociated data provider, and/or a list of alternative data providersable to process third party data 130. The unique identifier maycomprise, for example, binary data, a uniform resource name (URN), auniform resource locator (URL), a uniform resource identifier (URI),and/or a numeric and/or alphanumeric identifier string. This uniqueidentifier may be created and/or managed by third party application 140and/or data provider 150, and application 110 may use the uniqueidentifier to determine which data file is being requested by dataprovider 150. The identifier may be specified by an identity attributeof an XML element and may be qualified by a namespace. An example ofproperty file 230 may comprise the following XML:

<?xml version=″1.0″ encoding=″UTF-8″ standalone=″no″ ?><ds:datastoreItem ds:itemID=″Microsoft.SqlServer.AnalysisServices.1”xmlns:ds=″http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/customData″> <ds:schemaRefs /> </ds:datastoreItem>

Relationship file 240 may specifiy the relationship between data file220 and property file 230. The <Relationship> element may specify arelationship id (the Id attribute); a relationship type (the Typeattribute); and the data file that the corresponding property fileapplies to (the Target attribute). The following XML illustrates anexample relationship file 240. In this example, relationship file 240specifies that the property file applies to the item1.data file.

<?xml version=“1.0” encoding=“UTF-8” standalone=“yes” ?> <Relationshipsxmlns=“http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/package/2006/relationships”> <Relationship Id=“rId1” Type=“http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relatio nships/customDataProps” Target=“item1.data” /> </Relationships>

Save file 200 may comprise a connection string for aiding in connectingthe third party data with service provider 160. Application 110 may notneed to parse or understand the connection string, but may pass it todata provider 150 when required to do so. Third party application 140may be responsible for properly creating the connection string andassociating it with the third party data. When application 110 accessesan instance of data provider 150, it may query data provider 150 todetermine whether it supports third party data. After establishing thatdata provider 150 supports the third party data, application 110 maypass, for example, a full file name and path of save file 200.Application 110 may then request the URN of the third party data fromdata provider 150, locate the data file of the specified third partydata (i.e., data file 220), and create a read/write I/O stream for datafile 220. For example, application 110 may supply data provider 150 witha persistent pointer through which data provider 150 may read from andwrite to the third party data.

Additionally, application 110 may supply data provider 150 with alocation where data provider 150 may store temporary files. Application110 may also pass a last modified date of save file 200 and/or a usersecurity token needed to access save file 200. Application 110 mayidentify any third party data parts associated with save file 200without interacting with data provider 150. This may allow application110 to cope with a scenario where a relationship link to a third partydata part may be deleted from save file 200 before application 110connects to data provider 150. When there are no links referencing athird party data part, the data may be deleted from save file 200. Areference link may comprise an XML segment, such as the following,comprising a URN of third party data 130 to which the link refers.

<connection id=“1” emmbeddedDataId=“Company.DBServer.ServiceProvider.1”odcFile=“c:\users\anyone\documents\my data sources\Example.odc”keepAlive=“1” name=“Example” description=“” type=“5”refreshedVersion=“0” new=“1” background=“1”>

Application 110 may support connecting to data provider 150asynchronously. For example, data provider 150 may load the custom,third party data during the connection phase. Connecting asynchronouslymay enable application 110 to remain responsive throughout theconnection process and may enable the user to cancel the connectionprocess if it is taking too long. Data provider 110 may also returnvalues to application 110 that may indicate how much of the work dataprovider 110 has loaded and how much work it still has to do. This mayenable application 110 to display a progress bar.

A user may use third party application 140 to create a third party datapart. Third party application 140 may first create a connection betweenthird party data 130 and service provider 160 and may configure aconnection string comprising an identifier associated with data provider150 and/or a URN associated with third party data 130. Application 110may then try to connect to third party data 130 as if third party data130 already exists. When the connection workflow reaches the point whereapplication 110 tries to locate third party data 130 for a specifiedURN, application 110 may discover that third party data 130 does notexist in file 120. Application 110 may then create third party datafolder 210 (if it does not already exist) and may create data file 220,property file 230 and relationship file 250 associated with third partydata 130.

When application 110 saves file 120, it may save the data to a new fileand then delete the original. During the save process, third party data130 may not have been loaded; application 110 may copy third party data130 to the new file without establishing a connection to data provider150. For third party data parts that have been connected to, application110 may check an attribute associated with a pointer to the connectionstream to determine whether the data has changed. If so, application 110may request data provider 150 to serialize the updated data into the newfile.

If a user requests to delete the connection to third party data 130,application 110 may locate and delete all objects that are using theconnection. Application 110 may further determine whether third partydata 130 is associated with any other files used by application 110. Ifthird party data 130 is not associated with any other files, application110 may delete third party data 130 as well. Deleting third party data130 may comprise deleting file 120 comprising third party data 130,deleting property file 230, and/or deleting relationship file 250. Ifthere is no more third party data associated with file 120, thenapplication 110 may also delete third party data folder 210.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart setting forth the general stages involved in amethod 300 consistent with an embodiment of the invention for embeddingand retrieving third party data in an application's native file format.Method 300 may be implemented using a computing device 400 as describedin more detail below with respect to FIG. 4. Ways to implement thestages of method 300 will be described in greater detail below. Method300 may begin at starting block 305 and proceed to stage 310 wherecomputing device 400 may open a file associated with an application. Forexample, a spreadsheet application may open a workbook file.

From stage 310, method 300 may advance to stage 315 where computingdevice 400 may determine whether the file comprises at least one thirdparty data segment. For example, the third party data segment maycomprise an OLAP cube stored as binary data.

If, at stage 315, computing device 400 determines that the file does notcomprise a third party data segment, method 300 may end at stage 360 andcomputing device 400 may open the native application file as normal.Otherwise, method 300 may advance to stage 320 where computing device400 may determine whether a data provider associated with the thirdparty data segment is available. For example, if the file is opened onthe same computer, then the same data provider used to store the thirdparty data is likely to be available, but if the file is transferred toanother computer, the data provider associated with the third party datamay not be available. Consistent with embodiments of the invention,property file 230 may identify the data provider that originally storedthe third party data and/or other data providers that may be able tointerface with the third party data.

If, at stage 320, computing device 400 determines that no data provideris available, method 300 may end at stage 360 and computing device 400may open the native application file as normal. Otherwise, method 300may advance to stage 325 where computing device 400 may establish aconnection between the application and the data provider. For example,application 110 may connect to data provider 150 according to aconnection string stored in data file 220 and/or property file 230.Application 110 may also provide a security token, if needed, to dataprovider 150.

From stage 325, method 300 may advance to stage 330 where computingdevice 400 may receive a request from a user to access at least onethird party data segment. For example, the user may attempt to interactwith third party data displayed in application 110, such as modifying achart based on the third party data.

From stage 330, method 300 may advance to stage 335 where computingdevice 400 may open a file stream interface to data provider 150allowing data provider 150 to read and/or write to a save file locationassociated with application 110. This may allow data provider to readthe third party data and may allow application 110 to interoperate withthe third party data. Data provider 150 may expose the third party datato application 110 using a data interface supported by application 110.

Method 300 may then advance to stage 340 where computing device 400 bmaydisplay the third party data. For example, application 110 may receivethe data from data provider 150 and display it to the user. Method 300may then advance to stage 345 where computing device 400 may receive amodification to the third party data from the user. For example, a usermay update business insight data received from third party application140 and use it to create and/or update a chart using functionalityassociated with application 110.

From stage 345, method 300 may advance to stage 350 where computingdevice 400 may provide the data modification to the data provider. Forexample, application 110 may save the file comprising the third partydata and may inform data provider 150 that the data has changed andneeds to be saved. Method 300 may then advance to stage 355 wherecomputing device 400 may update the third party data segment stored inthe file. For example, data provider 150 may use the file streaminterface to write the updated data to a segment of the save fileassociated with application 110. Consistent with embodiments of theinvention, if the third party data has not been changed, method 300 mayskip stage 355. Method 300 may then end at stage 360.

An embodiment consistent with the invention may comprise a system forembedding data in a native application file. The system may comprise amemory storage and a processing unit coupled to the memory storage. Theprocessing unit may be operative to establish a connection interfacebetween an application and a data provider allowing the data provider towrite data to the application. The processing unit may be furtheroperative to receive data from the data provider and store the data in afile associated with a native format of the application. The data may becollected, by the data provider and/or a third party application, from aplurality of sources such as multiple databases, servers, or otherapplication data. The processor may be further operative to expose thethird party data to a user, receive modifications to the data, and savethe modifications via the data provider.

Another embodiment consistent with the invention may comprise a systemfor accessing third party data in an application file. The system maycomprise a memory storage and a processing unit coupled to the memorystorage. The processing unit may be operative to open a file comprisinga third party data segment associated with an application, determinewhether a data provider associated with the third party data segment isavailable, and establish a connection between the application and thedata provider. The file may comprise a primary index file comprising alocation index, such as a URN, identifying a sub-file comprising thethird party data segment. The processing unit may be further operativeto provide a write-access interface to the data provider allowing thedata provider to write data to the file associated with the application.Consistent with embodiments of the invention, the data provider may beoperative to connect with and provide data interactions with a pluralityof other applications.

Yet another embodiment consistent with the invention may comprise asystem for providing access to third party data. The system may comprisea memory storage and a processing unit coupled to the memory storage.The processing unit may be operative to open a file associated with anapplication, determine whether the file comprises a third party datasegment, determine whether a data provider associated with the at leastone third party data segment is available, and establish a connectionbetween the application and the data provider. The processing unit maybe further operative to receive a request from a user to access thethird party data segment, provide a read-write interface between thefile and the data provider, and display at least a portion of the thirdparty data segment as defined by the data provider. The processing unitmay then be operative to receive a modification to the third party datasegment from the user, provide the modification to the third party datasegment to the data provider, and receive an update to the third partydata segment stored in the file from the data provider.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system including computing device 400.Consistent with an embodiment of the invention, the aforementionedmemory storage and processing unit may be implemented in a computingdevice, such as computing device 400 of FIG. 4. Any suitable combinationof hardware, software, or firmware may be used to implement the memorystorage and processing unit. For example, the memory storage andprocessing unit may be implemented with computing device 400 or any ofother computing devices 418, in combination with computing device 400.The aforementioned system, device, and processors are examples and othersystems, devices, and processors may comprise the aforementioned memorystorage and processing unit, consistent with embodiments of theinvention. Furthermore, computing device 400 may comprise an operatingenvironment for system 100 as described above. System 100 may operate inother environments and is not limited to computing device 400.

With reference to FIG. 4, a system consistent with an embodiment of theinvention may include a computing device, such as computing device 400.In a basic configuration, computing device 400 may include at least oneprocessing unit 402 and a system memory 404. Depending on theconfiguration and type of computing device, system memory 404 maycomprise, but is not limited to, volatile (e.g. random access memory(RAM)), non-volatile (e.g. read-only memory (ROM)), flash memory, or anycombination. System memory 404 may include operating system 405, one ormore programming modules 406, and may include a user application 110.Operating system 405, for example, may be suitable for controllingcomputing device 400's operation. Programming modules 406 may include,for example, third party application 140 and/or data provider 150.Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may be practiced inconjunction with a graphics library, other operating systems, or anyother application program and is not limited to any particularapplication or system. This basic configuration is illustrated in FIG. 4by those components within a dashed line 408.

Computing device 400 may have additional features or functionality. Forexample, computing device 400 may also include additional data storagedevices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magneticdisks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated inFIG. 4 by a removable storage 409 and a non-removable storage 410.Computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removableand non-removable media implemented in any method or technology forstorage of information, such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules, or other data. System memory 404, removablestorage 409, and non-removable storage 410 are all computer storagemedia examples (i.e. memory storage.) Computer storage media mayinclude, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, electrically erasableread-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to storeinformation and which can be accessed by computing device 400. Any suchcomputer storage media may be part of device 400. Computing device 400may also have input device(s) 412 such as a keyboard, a mouse, a pen, asound input device, a touch input device, etc. Output device(s) 414 suchas a display, speakers, a printer, etc. may also be included. Theaforementioned devices are examples and others may be used.

Computing device 400 may also contain a communication connection 416that may allow device 400 to communicate with other computing devices418, such as over a network in a distributed computing environment, forexample, an intranet or the Internet. Communication connection 416 isone example of communication media. Communication media may typically beembodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, programmodules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information deliverymedia. The term “modulated data signal” may describe a signal that hasone or more characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media may include wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radiofrequency (RF), infrared, and other wireless media. The term computerreadable media as used herein may include both storage media andcommunication media.

As stated above, a number of program modules and data files may bestored in system memory 404, including operating system 405. Whileexecuting on processing unit 402, programming modules 406 (e.g. userapplication 110) may perform processes including, for example, one ormore of method 300's stages as described above. The aforementionedprocess is an example, and processing unit 402 may perform otherprocesses. Other programming modules that may be used in accordance withembodiments of the present invention may include electronic mail andcontacts applications, word processing applications, spreadsheetapplications, database applications, slide presentation applications,drawing or computer-aided application programs, etc.

Generally, consistent with embodiments of the invention, program modulesmay include routines, programs, components, data structures, and othertypes of structures that may perform particular tasks or that mayimplement particular abstract data types. Moreover, embodiments of theinvention may be practiced with other computer system configurations,including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments of theinvention may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotememory storage devices.

Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may be practiced in anelectrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged orintegrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizinga microprocessor, or on a single chip containing electronic elements ormicroprocessors. Embodiments of the invention may also be practicedusing other technologies capable of performing logical operations suchas, for example, AND, OR, and NOT, including but not limited tomechanical, optical, fluidic, and quantum technologies. In addition,embodiments of the invention may be practiced within a general purposecomputer or in any other circuits or systems.

Embodiments of the invention, for example, may be implemented as acomputer process (method), a computing system, or as an article ofmanufacture, such as a computer program product or computer readablemedia. The computer program product may be a computer storage mediareadable by a computer system and encoding a computer program ofinstructions for executing a computer process. The computer programproduct may also be a propagated signal on a carrier readable by acomputing system and encoding a computer program of instructions forexecuting a computer process. Accordingly, the present invention may beembodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, residentsoftware, micro-code, etc.). In other words, embodiments of the presentinvention may take the form of a computer program product on acomputer-usable or computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-usable or computer-readable program code embodied in the mediumfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system. Acomputer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that cancontain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for useby or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice.

The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example butnot limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagationmedium. More specific computer-readable medium examples (anon-exhaustive list), the computer-readable medium may include thefollowing: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portablecomputer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, and a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM). Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable mediumcould even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program isprinted, as the program can be electronically captured, via, forinstance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled,interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary,and then stored in a computer memory.

Embodiments of the present invention, for example, are described abovewith reference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations ofmethods, systems, and computer program products according to embodimentsof the invention. The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur outof the order as shown in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality/acts involved.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been described, otherembodiments may exist. Furthermore, although embodiments of the presentinvention have been described as being associated with data stored inmemory and other storage mediums, data can also be stored on or readfrom other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storagedevices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or a CD-ROM, a carrier wave fromthe Internet, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Further, the disclosedmethods' stages may be modified in any manner, including by reorderingstages and/or inserting or deleting stages, without departing from theinvention.

All rights including copyrights in the code included herein are vestedin and the property of the Applicant. The Applicant retains and reservesall rights in the code included herein, and grants permission toreproduce the material only in connection with reproduction of thegranted patent and for no other purpose.

While the specification includes examples, the invention's scope isindicated by the following claims. Furthermore, while the specificationhas been described in language specific to structural features and/ormethodological acts, the claims are not limited to the features or actsdescribed above. Rather, the specific features and acts described aboveare disclosed as example for embodiments of the invention.

1. A method for embedding data in an application file, the methodcomprising: establishing a connection between an application and a dataprovider, wherein establishing the connection comprises providing aninterface for the data provider to read and write data to theapplication; receiving, through the interface, a plurality of data fromthe data provider; and storing the plurality of data in a file, whereinthe file comprises a format associated with the application.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the application does not comprise nativesupport for retrieving the plurality of data.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the data provider collects the plurality of data from aplurality of sources.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:exposing the plurality of data to a user within the application;modifying at least one element of the plurality of data within theapplication; and saving the modified at least one element to the file.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the file comprises a compressedarchive of a plurality of files, wherein at least one of the pluralityof files comprises a primary index file, and wherein the primary indexfile comprises an entry for each of the other files of the plurality offiles.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein storing the plurality of datain the file comprises storing the plurality of data in at least one ofthe other files of the plurality of files, and wherein the primary indexfile entry associated with the at least one of the other files of theplurality of files comprises an identifier associated with the dataprovider.
 7. A computer-readable medium which stores a set ofinstructions which when executed performs a method for accessing thirdparty data in an application file, the method executed by the set ofinstructions comprising: opening a file associated with an application,wherein the file comprises a third party data segment; determiningwhether a data provider associated with the third party data segment isavailable; and in response to determining that the data provider isavailable, establishing a connection between the application and thedata provider.
 8. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein thefile comprise an Open XML file.
 9. The computer-readable medium of claim7, wherein the third party data segment comprises binary data.
 10. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the file associated withthe application comprises a location index for a sub-file, and whereinthe third party data segment is stored in the sub-file.
 11. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 10, further comprising: receiving auser request to access the third party data segment within theapplication; providing the location index of the sub-file to the dataprovider; and providing the user access to the third party data segmentthrough the data provider.
 12. The computer-readable medium of claim 7,further comprising providing a read-write access interface to the dataprovider from the application, wherein the write-access interface isoperative to allow the data provider to read and write data to the fileassociated with the application.
 13. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 7, further comprising: in response to determining that the dataprovider is not available, not loading the third party data segment intomemory.
 14. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the thirdparty data comprises a database table.
 15. The computer-readable mediumof claim 14, wherein the data provider comprises a database engine. 16.The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the third party datacomprises an OLAP cube.
 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16,wherein the data provider comprises an OLEDB provider.
 18. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the data provider isoperative to connect to a plurality of applications.
 19. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the connection between theapplication and the data provider comprises an asynchronous connection.20. A system for providing access to third party data, the systemcomprising: a memory storage; and a processing unit coupled to thememory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to: open a fileassociated with an application, determine whether the file comprises atleast one third party data segment, wherein the at least one third partydata segment comprises binary data, in response to determining that thefile comprises the at least one third party data segment, determinewhether a data provider associated with the at least one third partydata segment is available, in response to determining that the dataprovider associated with the at least one third party data segment isavailable, establish a connection between the application and the dataprovider, receive a request from a user to access the at least one thirdparty data segment, provide a read-write interface between the file andthe data provider, display at least a portion of the at least one thirdparty data segment as defined by the data provider, receive amodification to the at least one third party data segment from the user,provide the modification to the at least one third party data segment tothe data provider, and receive an update to the at least one third partydata segment stored in the file from the data provider, wherein theupdate comprises the modification received from the user.